Radiohead's Colin Greenwood named Official Ambassador for Independent Venue Week

Radiohead's Colin Greenwood has been named the the Official Ambassador for Independent Venue Week.

Running from January 28 - February 2, the inaugural Independent Venue Week will celebrate the UK's smaller venues, with 18 sites hosting a six-day long series of shows. Artists, promoters, labels and blogs will work with the venues to curate and promote new talent across the country.

Speaking about his involvement, Greenwood commented: "I'm proud to be involved in the celebration and promotion of local gigs which gave us some of the best times in our musical life – The Joiners, King Tut's, Jericho Oxford – just to name three brilliant venues that are still putting on top shows today." He added: "They're all crucial for the musical development of the UK because they provide local artists with places to hone their show skills and a window to other musical worlds when a tour hits town. Some of my favourite musical memories are from these independent venues and the dedicated promoters and local crew who run them. Here’s to a brilliant week in January and see you down the front!"

Colin Greenwood will be working with BBC Introducing Oxford to help curate The Jericho Tavern in Oxford show on February 1. For more information, visit: independentvenueweek.com

Frank Turner has also thrown this weight behind the new initiative, saying: "Without small, independent venues, there'd be no small, independent bands, and without them there'd be no big acts either."

The project's co-founder Sybil Bell added: "The struggle to compete with large, sponsor-backed venues makes it a tough and challenging time for independents. Combine this with bands finding it harder to tour due to limited revenues and rising on-the-road costs and we can all see what a difficult climate live venues find themselves in."